"Castle, we have unidentified movement to our front and have lost contact with 9 Platoon."

"Repeat"

"We have unidentified movement to our front, and have lost contact with 9 Platoon"

"Can you reestablish contact?"

"No, our Iraqi Army unit has deserted, 6 Platoon has 15 men, 7 and 8 Platoons are manning the outpost. Can you divert a helo?"

"Negative. One is down, the others supporting A Company , they have two wounded"

Two hours later

"Castle, this is Kings Point, we are under heavy attack, repeat, heavy attack"

"Say again , Kings point"

"Castle, this is Kings Point actual, we are being overrun by unknown forces, with heavy mortar and rocket fire. We need immediate air support and final protective fire"

"Air support is unavailable, repeat unavailable, massive uprising in Basra."

"What about the FPF"

"Firing now"

Thirty minutes later

"Kings point, this is castle. Kings point, this is castle, over"

"Kings point, this is castle. Kings point, this is castle, over"

"Kings point, this is castle. Kings point, this is castle, over"

Day 2

The outlying bases in the South are overrun. It looks like the Mahdi Army, but some of the operations are too slick to be done by Sadr's boys. Not that anyone has noticed. The Marines in Ramadi are being mortared hourly. Balad andTaji are under rocket fire. 100,000 Sadrists have sealed off the green zone. The Kurds are moving on Kirkuk.

In 24 hours, Iraq has gone from confusiuon to country wide resistance. Roads have been cut, bridges blown and Turkey is demanding the Kurds stop or they will "protect" the Turkmen.

At the same time, Saudi Shias are attacking the oil terminals. Two US ships have hit mines, with significant loss of life, but which is a footnote to the upheaval now engulfing Iraq. Iraq shia claim the mining, but no one believes them. Not that it matters, because a Halliburton convoy lay burning, its drivers beheaded, its contents looted.

US paid mercenaries are trying to run to the Baghdad Airport, pulling out in private aircraft. One has already been shot down and none of the Iraqi staff have shown up. Several journalists have been shot dead in the street. Their employers are thinking how to get them out, their escape plans turning to shit.

Boots on the ground in Iran? What air support there is gets tasked as they come in, it's triage in the air. The situation is fluid, but bad and getting worse by the hour. Boots on the ground in Iraq is looking like a challenge. Every soldier in the Green Zone has been armed and told to man the perimeter. Helicopters are moving civilians to the airport for evacutation. Iraqi staff are begging to be included, knowing they face certain death if captured.

The Iranians haven't waited for the US to attack. Once they saw the US moving up a carrier group, they sent word to their Iraqi clients to uprise in force. The US is now facing a multiple crisis in Iraq, certainly unable to attack Iran or even support US forces in Iraq. No matter how much air they send up, they need more.